Orthodontic bracket-band construction



Feb 2 4, 1 970 4 M. ETENGO-FF 3,496,637"

ORTHODONTIC BRACKET-BAND CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 15, 1967 INVENTOR. MILTON E TENQOFF A TTORNEY United States Patent O 3,496,637 ORTHODONTIC BRACKET-BAND CONSTRUCTION Milton Etengolf, 272 Treehaven Road 13., Cheektowaga, N.Y. 14215 Filed Aug. 15, 1967, Ser. No. 660,695 Int. Cl. A61c 7/00 US. 'CI. 3214 9 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An orthodontic bracket-band construction for mounting on a tooth comprising a'metallic band, elongated metal pins extendin substantially perpendicularly to said band and having the ends thereof welded to the face of said band, a nonmetallic tooth-colored bracket having a main body portion with bores therein for receiving said pins for securing said bracket to said band, and said bracket including laterally extending wing portions for? obscuring the face of said band.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an improved ortho-v dontic bracket-band construction.

By way of background, in the past orthodontic brack-i ets were mounted on metallic bands which encircled the teeth. Generally the brackets were metallic and presented a rather unaesthetic appearance and there was no satisfactory way of attaching tooth-colored nonmetallio. brackets to the metallic bands with the required strength. It is with the overcoming of the foregoing shortcoming of the prior art that the present invention is concerned.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is accordingly one object of the present invention to provide an improved orthodontic bracket-band construction wherein a tooth-colored nonmetallic bracket is essentially secured to a metallic band by welding, to thereby provide a union which is sufficiently strong to withstand the normal stresses applied thereto.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved orthodontic bracket-band combination which utilizes a tooth-colored bracket construction which completely obscures the metallic band to which it is at tached, thereby overcoming the unaesthetic appearance produced by the metal surfaces which were visible inprior constructions.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved orthodontic bracket-band combination in which the bracket possesses a minimum of sharp edges and corners which provide discomfort and focal points for the accumulation of food particles. Other objects and attendant advantages of the present invention will readily be perceived hereafter.

The improved orthodontic bracket-band construction of the present invention comprises annular metallic band for mounting on a tooth. A tooth-colored nonmetallio bracket, preferably made of a suitable plastic, is essen-l tially welded to said metallic bracket by being mounted on metallic pin inserts which are welded to said bracketl This relationship provides the strength of a welded connection to a plastic bracket mounted on a metallic band. The bracket includes a main body portion and thin laterally extending wings which obscure the front of the band when it is in mounted position on a tooth. The present invention will be more fully understood when the following portions of the specification are read i11 conjunction wtih the accompanying drawings wherein:

3,496,537 Patented Feb. 24, 1970 pr ce BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The improved bracket-band construction 10 of the present invention includes an annular metallic band 11 of conventional steel construction, or it may be fabricated from any other metallic material to which another body can be attached by welding, soldering or the like. Band 11 is of a suitable size for mounting on a tooth and its function is to support bracket 12 in a predetermined relationship to the tooth on which band 11 is mounted. Bracket 12 is preferably fabricated from a tooth-colored plastic material such as nylon, polyvinyl chloride and copolymers, cellulose acetate, urea and melamine resins, or other analogous substances. It may also be fabricated from suitable ceramic material. The ultimate objective is to have bracket 12 of a color which matches the color of the teeth, so as to be unobtrusive, and aesthetically pleasant.

As can be seen from the drawings, bracket 12 includes a main body portion 13 which is of substantially solid rectangular configuration with a face 14 having an arch-wire receiving slot 15 therein. This arch-wire is secured in position by a ligature wire which extends through elongated bores 16 which extend between the opposite edges 17 and 18 of body member 13. Body member 13 also includes upper and lower edges 19 and 20 as well as a rear surface 21, in opposition to front surface 14, which is placed in contiguous abutting relationship to the outer surface of band 11. At this point it is to be noted that the vertical dimension between upper and lower edges 19 and 20 of bracket 12 is the same as the vertical dimension of band 11 so that it completely covers the face of band 11.

Since the width of the front face of the tooth being covered is wider than the distance between side edges 17 and .18 of the body member, lateral wings 22 and 23 are formed integrally with bracket 12 and are obviously of the same tooth-colored material so as to completely obscure the front face of band 11 from view when band 11 is mounted in proper position on a tooth. It is to be noted that the vertical dimension of wings 22 and 23 is the same as the vertical dimension of band 11.

The improved bracket 12, comprising body member 13 and wings 22 and 23, is attached to band 11 in an unique manner which provides a bond of the strength which was previously capable of attainment only by rnetal-to-metal welded constructions. In order to achieve the foregoing, spaced metal pins 24 are inserted into appropriatte bores 25 in main body portion 13 with an interference fit so that it would be extremely diflicult to dislodge the bracket 12 from said pins. Thereafter, a resistance welding technique is utilized to weld the ends 26 of pins 24 to the face 27 of band .11, as can best be seen from a comparison of FIGURES 2 and 3. This arrangement provides the strength of a welded connection between a bracket which is fabricated from plastic and the metal band.

Pins 24 may be of any desired shape. For example, they may be frustoconical with their smaller bases being welded to the band, which in effect provides a wedge-fit between the bracket body 13 and the pins 24 to prevent the bracket body from sliding off of the pins as long as they remain in welded position on the band. Furthermore, While the pins 24 have been shown in parallel relationship to each other, they can be placed at an angle to each other and this would prevent the bracket body 13 from sliding off of pins 24, as might possibly be the case with a parallel arrangement.

Further, in accordance with the present invention, the outer ends 27 of pins 24 may be countersunk and the resulting bore be filled with plastic filler material which matches the color of the bracket, to thereby obscure the pins. In addition, instead of using pins such as depicted in the drawings, it may be desirable under certain conditions to utilize a metallic insert of another suitable configuration embedded in bracket body 12 to effect the joinder between the bracket and the band by means of welding. Alternatively, it .may be desirable to effect the attachment by means of soldering or any other metal joining technique in the event that this is desirable for the materials being used.

The wings 22 and 23 may be prestressed or formed so that they will effect a close bond, that is, lie in contiguous relationship to the face of band 11 when it is mounted on the tooth. Alternatively, if desired, before the welding is effected, the portions of bracket 12 which abut band 11 may be coated with a suitable adhesive or sealer which supplements the bonding attachment provided by pins 24 and serves the additional function of preventing foreign particles and liquids entering into any space between the bracket and the band.

It is to be noted that corner 28 between face 13 and edge 19, corner 29 between face 13 and edge 20, corner 30 between face 13 and edge 18, and corner 31 between face 13 and edge 17 are all rounded to obviate sharp corners which could snag food or be uncomfortable. In addition, fillets are provided at the junction 32 between end 17 and wing 22 and a corresponding fillet, as shown, is provided between end 18 and wing 23. Furthermore, it is to be noted from FIGURES l and 2 that the ends 33 and 34 of the wings merge gradually onto the face of band 11.

While two pins 24 have been depicted in the drawings it will be appreciated that any suitable number can be used. For example, it may be desirable to use two pins below groove 15 and one above, or use any other number as may be required for any particular situation. It is to be noted that pins 24 are above lower bore 16 so as not to interfere therewith.

It is also to be noted that bores 16 are placed in such a manner that they obviate. overhanging lips and the like previously used for securing the ligature wires. This construction thus eliminates areas which are sharp and which can serve as focal points for collecting food particles. In addition, the use of bores.16 extending through body 13 provides a stronger construction than can be obtained from the use of overhanging lips.

I claim:

1. An orthodontic bracket-band construction comprising metallic band for mounting on a tooth, a tooth-colored nonmetallic bracket, metal insert means welded to said band, and means mounting said metal insert means on said bracket, whereby said nonmetallic bracket is effectively welded to said metallic band.

2. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said nonmetallic bracket includes a main body portion and wing portions extending laterally from said main body portion for substantially covering the entire front face of said band in combination with the main body portion of said bracket.

3. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 1 wherein said insert means comprise elongated pin means, and bore means in said main body portion for receiving said pin means.

4. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 3 wherein said nonmetallic bracket includes a main body portion and wing portions extending laterally from said main body portion for substantially covering the entire front face of said band in combination with the main body portion of said bracket.

5. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 4 wherein said main body portion is of generally rectangular solid configuration and wherein said bore means and said pin means extend substantially perpendicular to said metallic band.

6. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 4 wherein said main body portion is of generally rectangular configuration having a face, an arch wire receiving groove extending horizontally across said face, and ligature wire receiving bores extending through said body portion substantially parallel to said groove.

7. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in-claim 2 wherein said main body portion is of generally rectangular configuration having opposite end portions and opposite upper and lower edge portions and a face and a back, and rounded corners at the junctions between said edge portions and said face and between said end portions and said face.

8. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 7 wherein said insert means comprise elongated pin means,'and bore means in said main body portion for receiving said pin means.

9. An orthodontic bracket-band construction as set forth in claim 8 including an arch wire receiving groove extending horizontally across said face, and ligature wire receiving bores extending through said body portion substantially parallel to said groove.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,553,797 9/1925 Angle -1 3214 2,502,902 4/1950 Tofliemire 3214 3,203,098 8/1965 Petraitis 3214 3,250,003 5/1966 Collito 32-14 ROBER PE H C P m y am r 

